Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Wyman, Alina
Keywords
Schiller, Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, Crime and Punishment
Area of Concentration
Humanities
Abstract
Dostoevsky and Schiller produced works which reflected not only national identity but also the political and social climate of their time. Dostoevsky's relationship with Schiller is crucial in understanding some of his most celebrated works. Schiller's idealistic heroes paved the way for Dostoevsky to expand and expose their intricate, but problematic moral fabric. The female characters in Schiller's The Robbers and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment embody sacrifice, agape, and a strong sense of morality that is rationalized and lacking in the male characters. Without the presence of these women the male protagonists could never reach "redemption". The comparison of these two works allows for a deeper understanding of Dostoevsky's reworking of Schiller's female characters. Although these works belong in two different genres, Vyacheslav Ivanov suggests that Dostoevsky's works can be viewed as tragedies with a goal of catharsis. Schiller's bourgeois tragedies and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment follow this model, helping to bridge play and novel.
Recommended Citation
Rizzo, Daniela, "Bowing Down To All Human Suffering Schillerian Ideals in the Robbers and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and the Role of Female Characters as Carriers of True Moral Value" (2012). Theses & ETDs. 4669.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4669